The fight between two Utah ski titans has escalated with the Vail Resorts-managed Talisker Corp. filing an eviction notice demanding that Park City Mountain Resort vacate 3,700 acres of Talisker-owned ski terrain in the next five days.

The two are embroiled in a contractual dispute over Park City Mountain Resort’s lease of Talisker land. Talisker owns Park City Mountain Resort’s neighboring The Canyons ski area, which is operated by Vail Resorts, as well as the land used by Park City Mountain Resort.

Talisker argues that Park City Mountain Resort was two days late in filing a lease renewal application in April 2011. Talisker terminated the lease, which dates to the early 1970s. In March, Park City Mountain Resort sued Talisker, arguing it had properly renewed the lease for lands at the seemingly low price of $155,000 a year, and Talisker’s refusal to continue the lease contract was an attempt to run the resort out of business.

Then Vail Resorts entered the scene in May this year, inking a 50-year deal — with six 50-year renewal options — to operate Talisker’s 4,000-acre The Canyons ski area, adjacent to Park City Mountain Resort. The deal has Vail paying at least $25 million a year and leaves Talisker with development rights to 4 million square feet of real estate. It also had Vail taking over the lawsuit with Park City Mountain Resort. Vail chief Rob Katz told analysts the litigation with Park City Mountain Resort — and the possibility of gaining control of one of Utah’s top-tier ski areas as well as The Canyons — factored into the deal.

“Clearly, we believe that land could add significant value to our opportunity,” Katz told analysts in May after announcing the long-term lease for The Canyons, noting the potential for creating a nearly 8,000-acre Vail-managed ski area in Utah.

On Wednesday, Talisker sent eviction notices to Park City Mountain Resort, demanding it leave the 3,700 acres — and $100 million worth of ski area infrastructure it has installed — by next Monday.

The company said in two formal documents and a letter to the judge hearing the lawsuit that subpoenas had yielded documents showing Park City Mountain Resort had actually filed the lease renewal documents on May 2, 2011, two days after the lease expired on April 30, 2011, but had dated the documents April 30, 2011. Park City apologized for the mistaken post-dating, but Talisker, in its Notice to Quit document demanding Park City Mountain Resort to leave, isn’t accepting the apology.

“We do not view the intentional backdating of a formal notice you thought was critical to be merely a mistake and an apology delivered after over two years have gone by rings hollow,” reads a letter by Talisker Land Holdings manager Fiona Arnold— who resigned as Vail Resorts chief counsel last month — sent to Park City Mountain Resort owner Powdr Corp. chief John Cumming and company attorneys. “Backdating a document is a tactic solely used to deceive a business partner. Unfortunately, this is no longer just a good-faith disagreement, but a question of how you have chosen to do your business. Your backdating of this notice and your apparent efforts to keep it hidden force us to take a different approach to our dispute and long-term relationship.”

Late Wednesday, Park City Mountain Resort indicated it had no intention of leaving the land where it has invested more than $100 million in ski infrastructure, including $7 million in 2012.

“Vail’s eviction notice is nothing more than a bald-faced attempt to circumvent the litigation already in process and interfere with our business. We will not give in to Vail’s bullying and look forward to conducting business as usual for the 2013-14 season,” said Jenni Smith, the president and general manager of Park City Mountain Resort, in a statement.

Vail Resorts issued a statement Thursday afternoon, calling the notice of eviction one of many procedural legal actions that will resolve the lease issue with its neighbor. The company said it was not trying to prevent Park City Mountain Resort from operating in 2013-14.

“We have an obligation to protect and preserve Talisker’s and our interest in this matter. We are concerned with the behavior that Park City Mountain Resort has demonstrated in this situation. Talisker issued Park City Mountain Resort the Notice to Quit as a necessary legal step to bring this issue to the Court and we anticipate that there will be a number of actions required to bring this dispute to closure,” said Kelly Ladyga, vice president of corporate communications for Vail Resorts, in the statement. “With that said, there is no intent by Talisker to take any action that would prevent PCMR’s ability to operate their resort during the upcoming 2013-2014 ski season. We are very cognizant of the importance of this situation to the entire Park City community and we look forward to bringing this situation and its uncertainty to a conclusion.”

Jason Blevins covers tourism, mountain business, skiing and outdoor adventure sports for both the business and sports sections at The Denver Post, which he joined in 1997. He skis, pedals, paddles and occasionally boogies in the hills and is just as inspired by the lively entrepreneurial spirit that permeates Colorado's high country communities as he is by the views.

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